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PO/ET

Yixing Studio — Est. 1983

Pots & pets,
raised at the table.

PO is the pot you pour from; ET is the pet that watches you do it. Both hand-shaped from a single Yixing purple sand clay — both arrive unfinished, then years of tea give them their colour.

The teapots→The tea pets→
3
teapot forms
18
tea pets
6
Yixing clays
A Zhu Ni cinnabar Xishi teapot by PO/ET
Wukong — a Yixing clay tea pet by PO/ET… and its pet悟空 · Wukong
  • Pots & pets, one clay✦
  • Hand-shaped, not moulded✦
  • Fired in Yixing, Jiangsu✦
  • Unglazed zisha clay✦
  • Seasoned by your tea✦
  • Retail & wholesale✦
  • Shipped worldwide✦

The Clay

One mountain,
three minds.

Every PO/ET piece — teapot and tea pet alike — begins as zisha, purple sand clay quarried near Yixing in Jiangsu, China. The ore is weathered, milled, and aged before a single form is shaped.

01

Zi Ni 紫泥

Purple Clay

The classic body of Yixing — dense, even, and forgiving. Fires a deep brown-violet and holds carved detail crisply.

02

Zhu Ni 朱泥

Cinnabar Clay

High in iron, high in shrinkage. Difficult to fire, prized for a bell-clear ring and a red that glows warmer with tea.

03

Duan Ni 段泥

Sand Clay

A pale, sandy body with a soft matte surface. Starts the colour of raw biscuit and warms slowly toward honey and oat.

The Pots

Pots, for the daily pour.

The other half of PO/ET. Yixing teapots thrown from the same purple sand clay as the tea pets — unglazed, single-walled, made to season with the tea you brew.

The Coin Pot — a Purple Gold Sand Yixing teapot by PO/ETPurple Gold Sand

The Coin Pot 钱多多

$280.00

Purple Gold Sand · 紫玉金砂

A compact, low-shouldered pot thrown from purple gold sand — a zini variant flecked with mica that catches light like scattered grit of gold. At 90 ml it is built for solo gongfu sessions and warms to a deeper aubergine the longer it is brewed.

Round-bellied gongfu pot · 90 ml · Yao Yun

The Dragon Bridge — a Aged Purple Clay Yixing teapot by PO/ETAged Purple Clay

The Dragon Bridge 龙提梁

$435.00

Aged Purple Clay · 老紫泥

A ti-liang pot — the handle vaults overhead in a single bridge rather than sitting at the side — sculpted here into the curl of a dragon. Aged Zi Ni purple clay, mellowed for years before throwing, gives it a quiet matte depth. At 240 ml it is the studio's table pot.

Ti Liang — overhead bridge handle · 240 ml · Yi Fou

Knowing Bamboo — a Yellow Jade Duan Yixing teapot by PO/ETYellow Jade Duan

Knowing Bamboo 知竹

$280.00

Yellow Jade Duan · 黄玉段

A low, wide pot built on the bamboo motif scholars have loved for a thousand years — the spout pulled as a young shoot, the handle a node-marked stem. Yellow jade Duan clay fires a soft, warm gold that suits the green of the plant it borrows.

Bamboo-segment pot · 100 ml · Yao Yun

Explore the teapots→

The Tea Pets

Eighteen small characters.

Cats, creatures, and the pilgrims of Journey to the West — each one cast from a different Yixing clay, each one waiting to be seasoned.

Showing 18 of 18 sculpted forms — every piece one of a kind.

A Yixing clay tea pet as unfired greenware in the PO/ET studio

Our Craft

From riverbank ore to tea-table companion.

Nothing about a PO/ET tea pet is rushed. The clay is older than the sculptor's hands; the firing is a single, unrepeatable event.

  1. 01
    Weather the oreRaw zisha rock is left to the open air for months, then milled and aged into a workable clay.
  2. 02
    Sculpt by handEach form is pressed and carved by hand — no moulds. Every pet keeps the maker's fingerprints.
  3. 03
    Dry the greenwareThe piece dries slowly and evenly for weeks so the clay will not crack or warp in the kiln.
  4. 04
    Fire at 1,200°CA single high firing vitrifies the body, locking in the open pores that let the clay drink tea.
PO/ET

A poem is finished by its reader. A tea pet is finished by the tea.

Finished Yixing clay teapots resting in the PO/ET studio
Seasons
with your
tea

The Maker

“From one clay I make two things — the pot you pour from, and the pet that sits and watches. Both leave my hands half-made — the rest is years of your tea.”

Dou LuFounder & sculptor, Yixing — since 1983

500+
years of the craft
100%
hand-sculpted
40+
countries shipped

Good to Know

Questions, answered.

What is a Yixing clay tea pet?+

A tea pet (茶宠) is a small unglazed clay figure kept on the tea tray. During gongfu tea sessions it is bathed in leftover tea; over months the porous Yixing clay absorbs the tea and develops a deep, soft sheen called a patina.

Why is Yixing clay special?+

Yixing clay, or zisha (紫砂, 'purple sand'), is a mineral-rich stoneware quarried only near Yixing in Jiangsu, China. Its open pore structure lets it breathe and absorb tea, which is why it has been used for teaware for over 500 years.

How do I season a tea pet?+

Pour warm leftover tea over the pet after each session and brush it gently with a soft tea brush. Never use soap. With regular tea baths the clay darkens and gains a lustre that is unique to your own brewing.

Do you sell tea pets wholesale?+

Yes. PO/ET supplies tea shops and distributors worldwide with wholesale pricing and tiered minimum orders. Contact the studio to open a trade account.

Stay close

News from the studio.

New characters, seasonal drops, and notes on the art of tea. No noise — just clay.

Wholesale & Trade

Stock PO/ET in your tea room.

Tea shops and distributors in 40+ countries carry our pets. Open a trade account for tiered pricing, and join the list for new releases first.

Trade enquiries and the slow list. No noise, ever.